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00:11 ♪♪ 00:35 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:36 Welcome to the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:38 here in Sacramento, California. 00:40 I'd like to welcome all of those who are joining us online, 00:43 across the country, and around the world. 00:46 Very happy to have you. 00:47 Also would like to welcome our regular Sabbath School members 00:50 who are meeting here in the Sanctuary. 00:52 We're very excited. 00:54 Today is the start of a brand new lesson quarterly entitled, 00:58 "The Promise." 00:59 And it's dealing with the covenants: 01:01 the everlasting covenant, the new covenant, 01:03 the old covenant, how do they relate together? 01:06 So just 13 weeks of great studies. 01:09 Now for those of you who are here, 01:10 if you don't have a lesson quarterly, 01:12 I want to encourage you, you can pick one up as you leave today. 01:15 For our friends who are joining us online, 01:17 if you don't have a lesson quarterly you can just go 01:20 to a local Adventist church and you'll be able to get one there 01:23 or go online and just type in, "Sabbath School Quarterly." 01:28 We're doing lesson number-- oh, actually, 01:31 we starting this series called, "The Promise." 01:33 It's for the month of April, May, and June, 01:36 and you can download the lesson, 01:37 study along with us. 01:38 We're looking at lesson number one this morning. 01:41 But before we get to that, we want to tell you 01:43 about our free offer. 01:45 We have a book entitled, "The Final Verdict." 01:46 And this is our free gift to anyone who would call and ask. 01:50 The number for that is 866-788-3966 01:54 and you can ask for offer number 162. 01:57 We'll get it in the mail, we'll send it to you. 01:59 You can also receive a digital copy of this book 02:02 by texting the code "SH078" to the number "40544." 02:10 And you can get a digital copy of the book, 02:12 "The Final Verdict." 02:14 I think you'll be blessed as you read that. 02:16 Well, before we get to our study this morning, 02:18 we have a special treat. 02:20 We've got Every Breath Quartet that'll be bringing us 02:23 a special musical number at this time. 02:28 ♪♪ 02:43 ♪ Lord, let Your light, light of Your face ♪ 02:53 ♪ shine on us ♪ 02:59 ♪ Lord, let Your light, light of Your face ♪ 03:09 ♪ shine on us ♪ 03:14 ♪ That we may be saved ♪ 03:22 ♪ that we may have life to find our way ♪ 03:33 ♪ in the darkest night ♪ 03:40 ♪ Let Your light shine on us ♪ 03:50 ♪♪ 04:01 ♪ Lord, let Your grace, grace from Your hand ♪ 04:11 ♪ fall on us ♪ 04:17 ♪ Lord, let Your grace, grace from Your hand ♪ 04:28 ♪ fall on us ♪ 04:33 ♪ That we may be saved, that we may have life ♪ 04:49 ♪ to find our way in the darkest night ♪ 05:00 ♪ Let Your grace fall on us ♪ 05:10 ♪ Lord, let Your love, love with no end ♪ 05:20 ♪ come over us ♪ 05:25 ♪ Lord, let Your love, love with no end ♪ 05:35 ♪ come over us ♪ 05:40 ♪ That we may be saved ♪ 05:49 ♪ that we may have life ♪ 05:56 ♪ to find our way in the darkest night ♪ 06:09 ♪ Let Your love come over us ♪ 06:19 ♪ Let Your light ♪ 06:22 ♪ shine on us ♪ 06:39 Jean: Let us pray. 06:41 Dear Father in heaven, 06:42 what a joy to be able to gather in Your house 06:44 on this beautiful Sabbath that You've given us 06:46 blue skies and opportunity to open Your Word again, 06:48 Lord, and just reflect upon Your grace and Your love 06:51 and the plan of redemption that was set into effect many, 06:55 many years ago, Lord, revealed in the covenants, 06:58 the promises made. 06:59 And Lord, we ask Your blessing as we study 07:01 this very important subject today. 07:03 Be with Pastor Rod as he opens the Word in Jesus's name, 07:06 amen. 07:08 Our lesson today, lesson number one, 07:09 is going to be brought to us by Pastor Rod Thompson. 07:13 Rod Thompson: Good morning, everyone. 07:15 I want to invite you to open up your Bibles 07:17 to Genesis chapter 1. 07:20 Genesis chapter 1. 07:23 What a beautiful song, huh? 07:25 "May Your grace come down on us." 07:27 I want to welcome all of you, whether you're here 07:29 in the Sanctuary with us, whether you're at home 07:31 watching online or around the country or around the world. 07:35 Welcome to the Granite Bay Hilltop Church 07:37 Sabbath School Study Hour. 07:40 And thank you, Pastor Ross, for praying for us, 07:43 but I'd like to have another prayer. 07:45 Let's bow our heads. 07:47 O loving Father, thank You so much for Your amazing love. 07:51 And Lord, You are good and we thank You so much 07:56 that You did not abandon us to the deceptions of the devil but, 08:01 Lord, You have a plan and You are working Your plan. 08:05 And Lord, we want to surrender our will to You and allow You 08:08 to do in us what we cannot do on ourselves. 08:11 So we pray this morning the Holy Spirit would speak to 08:13 our hearts and minds and, Lord, You would show us what 08:16 You would have us do and we ask it in Jesus's name, amen. 08:22 I heard a story about a group of scientists who, well, 08:27 they decided that we no longer need God. 08:31 Now in our world today, that might not surprise us at all 08:34 that they would feel that way, but they had this group 08:38 and they decided that they were going to send one of them to God 08:41 to explain that to Him. 08:42 And so the one that was chosen went and he said to God, 08:46 "God, we no longer need You. 08:49 We've come a long way. 08:52 We can--we can clone a human being. 08:55 We can do many miraculous things. 08:57 We can practically create out of nothing. 09:00 We don't need You anymore. 09:01 You can go Your way." 09:03 And God listened very patiently to the scientist and when he was 09:07 done, He said, "Wow, it sounds like you guys think you've got 09:11 it all figured out there. 09:12 I'll tell you what, why don't we have a man-making contest?" 09:16 And the scientist got excited. 09:18 He was like, "Wow, that's a great idea. 09:19 Let's do that." 09:20 But God said, "Okay, but we're going to do it like I did it 09:24 back in the old days with Adam." 09:27 And the scientist said, "Okay." 09:29 And he got--he went and he got his scientist buddies and they 09:32 all got together and they were so excited they went out and 09:34 they got their wheelbarrow and they got their shovels and they 09:38 started digging in the dirt and putting it in the wheelbarrow. 09:40 And God said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. 09:42 What are you guys doing?" 09:44 And they said, "We're getting our dirt so that 09:46 we can make a man." 09:47 And God said, "No, no, you gotta go get your own dirt." 09:52 Now we have probably all heard that story before. 09:57 It's a cute story. 09:58 It may make us chuckle inside, but it teaches us one 10:01 very important truth about God, and that is that God created 10:09 everything out of nothing. 10:12 We believe that, don't we? 10:14 I want you to notice what it says in Hebrews chapter 11, 10:17 verse 3. 10:19 Paul says: "By faith we understand that the worlds 10:23 were framed by the word of God, so that the things 10:27 which are seen were not made of things which are visible." 10:32 Now if I just said that a different way, 10:35 I would just simply say that we understand 10:39 that the creative process that God used was what? 10:44 He spoke, and it was. 10:47 He spoke things into existence and so, 10:49 on that first day of Creation, He created matter and then 10:53 He formed that matter into the objects that we-- 10:57 that populate our physical universe. 11:01 And as we start this new quarterly on "The Promise: 11:06 God's Everlasting Covenant," we want to start 11:08 with the biblical account of Creation. 11:12 It is a story that is filled with hope, 11:15 it is filled with happiness, it is a story that is filled 11:18 with perfection. 11:21 If you have your Bibles open to Genesis chapter 1, 11:23 and if you look there with me, I'm not going to read this 11:26 all to you, you can read it for yourself, 11:29 but we see in verses 3 through 5 the first day of Creation: 11:32 God created light and He saw that it was good. 11:36 In verses 6 through 10 we see the second day of Creation: 11:40 God created the firmament, the waters, and the dry land, 11:44 and God saw that it was good. 11:46 Verses 11 through 13 is the third day of Creation. 11:50 God created the grass, the herbs, the trees, 11:52 and He saw that it was good. 11:54 Verses 14 to 19, the fourth day of Creation. 11:58 God created the sun and the moon and the stars, 12:01 and He saw that it was good. 12:02 And verses 20 to 25 are the fifth day of Creation, 12:06 and God created the sea creatures, 12:08 the land beasts, and the birds of the air, 12:11 and God saw that it was good. 12:13 And so the first five days of Creation, 12:15 God saw that it was good, it was good, it was good, 12:18 it was good, it was good. 12:20 And then on the sixth day, God created a man and He said, 12:23 "It is very good." 12:26 And so in six days, God created all that is seen 12:30 and He saw that it was good. 12:33 It was perfect. 12:35 And He created a seventh day and rested on that day, 12:39 observing and enjoying His Creation, 12:43 and it was a perfect Creation. 12:45 It was spot--without spot. 12:47 It was without blemish. 12:49 But, friends, that is not the world that we have today, is it? 12:54 And so the question is, what happened? 12:57 And that's the name of our study today, isn't it? 13:00 "What Happened?" 13:01 This world was perfect when God first made it, 13:04 but something happened and now it's not perfect. 13:07 And if we were to sum up this entire quarter's new study on 13:13 "The Promise: God's Everlasting Covenant," we could sum it up 13:17 with just one question, and that is, 13:20 "What is God doing now to make it right?" 13:24 What's He doing to fix it? 13:25 What's He doing to make it perfect once again? 13:29 And Sunday's lesson teaches us a very important lesson and that 13:36 is in the Genesis account, those first three chapters of Genesis, 13:41 whether you read it in there or whether you read, 13:44 Psalm 100, verse 3, Isaiah 40, verse 28, Acts 17:26, 13:50 Ephesians 3, verse 9, Hebrews 1, verse 2 and 10, 13:54 or any other verse in the Bible that talks about Creation, 13:58 nowhere in Scripture does God ever try to prove 14:03 that He is the Creator. 14:05 The Creation account simply says God created everything 14:10 out of nothing and then in very basic language 14:14 it explains to us how He did it. 14:16 He spoke and it was. 14:19 He formed the man out of the dust of the ground. 14:22 And if we go back to Hebrews 11, verse 3 again, 14:25 let me read that to you. 14:27 "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word 14:31 of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things 14:35 which are visible." 14:37 I want you to focus on the first two words of that passage: 14:41 "By faith," because you see, brothers and sisters, 14:45 whether you're a Christian or not, 14:47 whether you believe in God or not, 14:49 or you believe in Creation or you believe in evolution, 14:53 everyone must live by faith. 14:57 And there's a reason for that, and it's very simple: 15:00 because we weren't here when it all started. 15:03 And so we have to live by faith. 15:05 And so if you're an atheist and you believe in evolution, 15:08 you have to have a measure of faith to believe 15:12 that there was nothing and then it blew up and then 15:16 millions and millions of years later, 15:18 we have all of this intelligence and all of this life. 15:23 But on the opposite side of the coin, 15:26 if you're a Christian and you believe in a Creator 15:28 and you believe in the six-day literal Creation, 15:32 then you too have to live by faith. 15:35 And that's what Paul says: "By faith we believe," 15:40 or we understand, "that the world was created by God." 15:46 And personally, I think that it takes more faith to believe 15:51 in evolution than it does to believe in God. 15:53 Let me tell you why. 15:56 Let me give you an analogy here. 15:59 How many of you--let me see a show of hands. 16:01 How many of you have heard the saying "blind faith"? 16:07 Blind faith. 16:09 Okay, almost everyone's hand in the audience is up here, 16:12 and those that you didn't, you're just afraid to do that 16:16 or--but I believe that all of us have had that saying. 16:21 So let me ask you a question. 16:24 What is blind faith? 16:29 What is blind faith? 16:30 Is that believing in something we can't see? 16:33 Okay, then what is faith? 16:37 Well, faith is also believing in something we can't see, 16:40 but there's a difference, isn't there? 16:42 Because, you see, God doesn't say, 16:44 "Just believe that I'm the Creator because I said so," 16:47 but rather, He gives enough evidence for Creation 16:53 that we can believe that and we can, by faith, understand 16:58 that He formed the worlds by His Word. 17:01 We believe that, don't we? 17:03 And in Monday's lesson, it points us 17:05 to Genesis chapter 1, verse 27. 17:09 Notice what that says. 17:11 It says: "So God created man in His own image, 17:15 in the image of God He created him; 17:17 male and female He created them." 17:21 We believe that, don't we? 17:23 God created us in His image and in His likeness. 17:28 But that really begs of us the question, 17:31 "What does it mean to be created in the image of God?" 17:37 Well, we know that John chapter 4, verse 24, 17:40 tells us that God is Spirit and we must worship Him 17:43 in Spirit and truth. 17:45 But there's more to it than that, isn't there? 17:46 We are physical beings. 17:49 We have a body. 17:52 And we are also mental beings, aren't we? 17:55 We have a brain, we have a mind, we have the capacity to think 17:59 and to reason. 18:01 So we're physical beings, we're mental beings. 18:05 We're also emotional beings. 18:07 We have feelings and we sometimes have our feelings hurt 18:11 and sometimes we have joy and peace and love. 18:13 We have the capacity to-- we are physical beings, 18:18 we are mental beings, we are emotional beings. 18:20 But God also created us to be spiritual beings, 18:25 didn't He? 18:26 He created us in His image. 18:29 Now, we read in Genesis 1, verse 27, 18:32 that we're created in His image but I want to show you 18:35 something. 18:36 Turn with me to Genesis chapter 5, 18:38 and notice what it says, starting in verse 1. 18:43 It says: "This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. 18:46 In the day that God created man, He made him in the," what? 18:52 "In the likeness of God." 18:54 So in Genesis 1:27, we see we were made in the image of God 18:58 and here now, in 5, chapter 5, verse 1, 19:03 we see we're made in the likeness of God. 19:06 Let's keep reading. 19:07 Look at verse 2. 19:09 "He created them male and female, 19:11 and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day 19:13 they were created. 19:14 And Adam lived 130 years old, and begot a son," 19:18 in the likeness of God. 19:21 Is that what it says? 19:23 No, it says: "He begot a son in his own likeness 19:27 and after his image, and he named him Seth." 19:30 So we see that Adam was created in the image and in the likeness 19:35 of God, but then when Adam has a son, 19:38 rather than being made in the image and the likeness of God, 19:43 he's made in the image and likeness of Adam. 19:46 What happened? 19:48 Something went wrong there and now he is not in the likeness 19:53 of God, but rather, he's in the likeness of Adam. 19:57 But, of course, we know what happened, don't we? 20:00 Our first parents sinned against God and we lost 20:04 that Spirit nature. 20:07 We are no longer in the image of God. 20:13 I find it very interesting that this book that we call the Bible 20:17 has just three chapters where God describes everything 20:23 that he created and what happened. 20:26 Out of the entire book, just three chapters. 20:30 And we know that there was something that caused man 20:34 to no longer be in the image of God. 20:38 Something that caused this world to be cursed and, 20:41 of course, we know what that was, 20:42 because Wednesday's lesson took us to Genesis chapter 2. 20:46 And notice what it says in verse 16 and 17. 20:50 It says: "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 20:52 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 20:55 but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, 20:59 for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.'" 21:03 Now, we know that it also talks about there being another tree 21:07 in the garden, the tree of life. 21:09 And so we see that Adam and Eve are created by God, 21:15 they're put in this garden. 21:17 It has two special trees in it: the tree of life, 21:20 the tree of knowledge of good and evil, 21:22 but God created man to be free mortal agents. 21:27 He gave them the right to choose. 21:29 And, friends, that's a very dangerous thing to do, isn't it? 21:33 I mean, think about that for a minute. 21:35 If you give someone the right or the freedom to choose 21:39 to obey or disobey, they just might disobey. 21:43 If you give them the right or the freedom to choose 21:46 whether to love you back or not, they just might not do it. 21:51 And so it's a very dangerous thing that God did 21:54 but God does not want us to be robots. 21:57 God didn't want us to love Him just simply 22:01 because He programmed us to do that. 22:04 And so He wanted his Creation that was made in His image 22:09 and His likeness to choose to love Him back. 22:13 God wanted to have a relationship with His Creation. 22:18 God is love, isn't He? 22:21 To that, I don't think there's any dispute among any of us. 22:24 God is love. 22:26 But in order for love to exist, they must have the freedom 22:32 to choose whether or not to love back. 22:36 God would allow the masterpiece of His Creation to be tested. 22:43 He would ask that they would prove whether they would love 22:47 and whether they would be obedient and it would choose-- 22:50 it would essentially force them to respond either positively 22:56 or negatively to their relationship with the Creator: 23:00 were they going to trust Him or were they going to go 23:04 their own way? 23:06 I want you to notice what it says in the book, 23:08 "Conflict and Courage." 23:10 Chapter 9, page 15. 23:13 It says: "To man, the crowning work of Creation, 23:16 God has given power to understand His requirements, 23:20 to comprehend the justice and beneficence of His law 23:24 and its sacred claim upon him and of man unswerving obedience 23:30 is required. 23:31 Like the angels, the dwellers in Eden had been placed 23:34 upon probation. 23:36 Their happy estate could be retained only on condition 23:40 of fidelity to the Creator's law. 23:43 They could obey and live or they could disobey and perish." 23:48 Here we see a little bit more into the story that God 23:51 put our first parents in the Garden of Eden. 23:55 He gave them the freedom to choose whether to love Him back 23:59 or not, whether to be obedient or disobedient, 24:02 and they were placed there on probation. 24:07 In other words, as long as they ate from the tree of life, 24:11 they would live, but if they ate from the tree of the knowledge 24:15 of good and evil, they would no longer have access to that tree 24:19 because God didn't-- wouldn't want them to live 24:22 in that condition forever. 24:24 But we also know that there's more to the story than that, 24:28 isn't there? 24:30 We know that there was an angel in heaven by the name of Lucifer 24:35 who was a very high-ranking angel, 24:37 who also had the freedom to choose whether to rebel or not, 24:43 or to love God or not. 24:44 And we know that he wanted to have the prerogatives of God, 24:49 he wanted worship like God, but he did not want 24:54 the image of God. 24:55 He did not want the character of God. 24:58 He wanted to go his own way. 25:00 And, of course, he got a third of the angels to rebel with him, 25:04 and the Bible tells us there was war in heaven. 25:08 Oh, what happened, right? 25:10 There was perfection in heaven. 25:13 How could there be war in heaven? 25:15 But it says that the devil, that's Lucifer who gained 25:19 for himself the title "devil" or "Satan," and a third 25:23 of the angels fought against Michael and his angels 25:25 and they were kicked out of heaven. 25:28 And I want you to notice what it says in the book, 25:32 "Early Writings," page 145. 25:35 "When God said to His Son, 'Let Us make man in Our own image,' 25:39 Satan was jealous of Jesus. 25:43 He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man 25:46 and, because he was not, he was filled with envy, 25:50 jealousy, and hatred." 25:53 So here we see a little bit into the insight of Satan, 25:57 that he wanted to be included in the Creation of the world 26:01 and the Creation of man, and because he wasn't, 26:03 he was furious. 26:06 He was jealous, he was envious, and he was filled with hatred. 26:10 And guess what? 26:12 He brought that envy, jealousy, and hatred to this world 26:16 and he tempted our first parents into disobedience. 26:20 Notice what it says in "The Great Controversy," page 532: 26:25 "Satan's envy was excited as he looked upon the beautiful home 26:29 prepared for the sinless pair." 26:32 That's Adam and Eve. 26:34 "He determined to cause their fall, 26:36 that having separated them from God and brought them under 26:40 his own power, he might gain possession of the earth 26:43 and here establish his kingdom in opposition to the Most High." 26:49 So, again, we see a little more into the picture here. 26:52 We see that Satan was envious and his desire was to take away 26:59 the dominion of the Earth from Adam and Eve. 27:03 Remember, God had given them dominion. 27:05 And so his thinking was that he was going to wrestle that away 27:09 from them and by deceiving them and getting them to disobey God, 27:14 he gained for himself the title, "Prince of this world." 27:20 I want you to notice what it says in the book, 27:22 "The Pulpit Commentary, Volume I," page 30. 27:26 It says that English word "image" comes 27:31 from the Hebrew word "tzelem," and it says that it denotes 27:36 the shadow outline of a figure. 27:40 So the word "image" is a shadow outline of a figure. 27:45 And then it goes on to say that the English word "likeness" 27:49 comes from the Hebrew word "demuth" which means 27:52 the correspondence or resemblance of that shadow. 27:57 So if you and I are made in the image or in the likeness of God, 28:02 we are a resemblance of the shadow of God. 28:06 And so, like God, we have the power to choose, 28:11 the freedom to think and act according to moral imperatives 28:16 and thus we are free to love and obey or to distrust and disobey. 28:23 And what was the result of that? 28:26 Well, in that book, "Conflict and Courage," page 16, 28:29 it says this: "Having herself transgressed, she," 28:34 that is Eve, "became the agent of Satan working 28:38 the ruin of her husband. 28:41 In a state of strange unnatural excitement, 28:45 with her hands filled with the forbidden fruit, 28:47 she sought his," that's Adam's, "presence and related 28:51 all that had occurred. 28:54 An expression of sadness came over the face of Adam. 28:58 He appeared astonished and alarmed. 29:01 To the words of Eve, he replied that this must be 29:04 the foe against whom they had been warned. 29:07 And by the divine sentence, 'She must die.' 29:12 To the words--" excuse me. 29:20 "In answer, she urged him to eat, repeating the words 29:26 of the serpent that they would not surely die. 29:30 She reasoned that this must be true for she felt no evidence 29:36 of God's displeasure but, on the contrary, 29:39 she realized a delicious, exhilarating influence thrilling 29:45 every faculty with new life, such she imagined as inspired 29:51 the heavenly messengers." 29:53 And so here we see that, essentially, 29:56 what she said to Adam was, "God said that we had-- 30:00 would die but I didn't die. 30:02 I'm not feeling any ill effects at all, so you should eat also." 30:07 And notice what it says in, "The Spirit of Prophecy, 30:10 Volume I," page 40. 30:12 It says: "They both ate and they obtained the knowledge of sin 30:19 and a sense of guilt. 30:21 The covering of light about them soon disappeared 30:25 and under a sense of guilt and loss of their divine covering, 30:30 a shivering seized them." 30:34 Isn't that interesting? 30:36 They gained the knowledge of good and evil, 30:39 and the light that surrounded them began to disappear 30:43 and they had a sense of guilt. 30:46 And Thursday's lesson tells us at this point their relationship 30:52 with God was broken. 30:56 They were no longer in the image of God. 31:00 God had warned them that if they ate of that forbidden fruit, 31:04 that they would surely die. 31:06 And though they didn't die physically that day, 31:09 in a sense they died spiritually. 31:13 I want to read in the Bible here. 31:16 Turn with me to Genesis 3 and notice what it says, 31:21 starting in verse 7. 31:23 This is after they ate of the fruit: "Then the eyes of both 31:26 of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; 31:29 and they sewed fig leaves together 31:31 and made themselves coverings. 31:33 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden 31:36 in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from 31:40 the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 31:42 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, 31:45 'Where are you?' 31:46 So he said, 'I heard Your voice in the garden, 31:48 and I was afraid because I was naked; 31:50 and I hid myself.' 31:51 And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? 31:54 Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you 31:57 that you should not eat?'" 32:01 I want you to notice that as soon as Adam and Eve sinned, 32:07 God was immediately there. 32:09 Did you catch that? 32:11 God was immediately there, not to bring immediate 32:14 physical death but rather to question them. 32:19 "Why were you afraid?" 32:22 "What have you done," right? 32:25 God was there, not to bring reproach, 32:29 but rather to bring hope. 32:33 God had compassion and mercy on man. 32:37 He knew that they had been deceived by the enemy and 32:41 God had compassion on them and, rather than bringing immediate 32:47 death, he brought hope, he brought forgiveness and healing. 32:51 And notice what it says in verse 12: "Then the man said, 32:55 'The woman whom You gave to me, she gave me of the tree, 32:58 and I ate.' 32:59 And the Lord God said to the woman, 33:01 'What is this that you have done?' 33:02 And the woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, 33:05 and I ate.'" 33:06 Verse 14: "So the Lord God said to the serpent: 33:10 'Because you have done this.'" 33:13 Because you have continued your rebellion, 33:17 even though you were kicked out of heaven, 33:19 you've brought that rebellion here. 33:21 Because you deceived the crown of My Creation, 33:24 created in My image and in My likeness. 33:26 Because you have done this, notice what He says in verse 15: 33:30 "'I will put enmity,'" that is hatred for sin, 33:34 'between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; 33:40 he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.'" 33:44 Notice that God says, "I'm going to put enmity, 33:48 I'm going to put hatred, between you, Satan, 33:51 and the woman." 33:53 And of course, in Bible prophecy we know a woman represents 33:56 the church, right? 33:58 God's people. 33:59 "I'm going to put hatred for sin in between the two of you." 34:03 And notice what it says in, "The Great Controversy," 34:06 page 505. 34:09 It says: "This enmity is not naturally entertained. 34:14 When man transgressed the divine law, 34:17 his nature became evil and he was in harmony 34:22 and not at variance with Satan. 34:25 There exists naturally no enmity between sinful man 34:30 and the originator of sin. 34:32 Both became evil through apostasy. 34:38 The apostate is never at rest, except as he obtains sympathy 34:43 and support by inducing others to follow his example. 34:46 For this reason, fallen angels and wicked men unite 34:50 in desperate companionship. 34:53 Had not God specifically interposed, 34:57 Satan and man would have entered into an allegiance 35:01 against heaven and instead of cherishing enmity against Satan, 35:05 the whole human family would have been united 35:09 in opposition to God." 35:12 Here we see that if God had not stepped in, 35:16 if He had not intervened, 35:18 that man would have been lost forever. 35:21 Because we would not have the capacity to overcome that evil 35:26 on our own, and so He says, "I'm going to put enmity 35:30 between you." 35:31 And here He promises a redeemer, the one who would reconcile God 35:38 to man, the one who would restore our relationship 35:42 with Him, and that is the beginning 35:45 of the atonement process that God began. 35:49 Another way of saying atonement is at onement, right? 35:53 God is a social creature and He desires 35:56 to have fellowship with man. 35:59 He created them in His own image and in His own likeness, 36:03 and His desire more than anything else is that we would 36:08 choose of our own free will to love Him back. 36:13 In fact, in 1 John chapter 4, verse 19, 36:16 it says that "we love Him because He first loved us." 36:21 And so God came into the garden to point man forward, 36:27 to show him how he can recover from the mistake 36:33 that he had made. 36:34 And I want you to notice that Adam and Eve 36:36 understood what God said. 36:38 Let me show it to you. 36:40 Look with me in your Bibles, Genesis 4, verse 1. 36:44 The Bible says: "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, 36:48 and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, 36:51 'I have acquired a man from the Lord.'" 36:55 That's what it says in my New King James Version. 36:58 But it's very interesting, brothers and sisters, 37:01 if you go back to the original text, 37:04 it literally reads this way: "I have gotten a man the Lord." 37:14 Do you see the difference? 37:16 In the New King James, it says: "I have gotten a man 37:18 from the Lord," but in the original text, it says: 37:21 "I have gotten a man the Lord." 37:24 In other words, when Eve held her child in her arms, 37:29 she remembered the promise of God and she entertained 37:33 the hope that he was the promised deliverer, 37:37 and she named him "Gotten." 37:40 Notice what it says in, "The Desire of Ages," page 31: 37:44 "The Savior's coming was foretold in Eden, 37:47 and when Adam and Eve first heard the promise, 37:50 they looked for its speedy fulfillment. 37:52 They joyfully welcomed their firstborn son, 37:56 hoping that he might be the deliverer." 38:02 They were expecting God to answer that prayer 38:06 in their firstborn son. 38:09 And God further showed man how redemption and restoration 38:16 to a relationship with Him could be brought about. 38:19 He instituted the sacrificial system by which man could have 38:26 his sins covered. 38:27 And you'll remember that both of Adam and Eve's sons, 38:31 Cain and Abel, they both brought a sacrifice. 38:35 They both brought an offering to God. 38:37 Cain brought the fruit of the ground, 38:39 and Abel brought the lamb sacrifice, 38:42 the blood offering, that God had asked for. 38:46 And, of course, the blood offering was the only one 38:50 that was accepted, because only through the death 38:54 of an innocent animal could the sin of man be accounted for. 38:59 The penalty for disobedience was death. 39:03 And either man had to pay for his own sins 39:07 or a substitute had to be found. 39:11 And so by transferring his sins upon the animal, 39:15 and then slaying the animal, could his sins be covered up. 39:23 And even though the promise, it was dim and shadowy in 39:29 its outline, and it was foretold as the seed of the woman, 39:34 what--that was completely to restore the lost dominion 39:39 and glory of man, it was to restore man in the image of God, 39:46 therefore, sin must not only be covered up, 39:50 but sin has to be completely eradicated. 39:55 And God has shown us how we can do that. 39:59 And you'll remember that Jesus was speaking to a Pharisee 40:04 by the name of Nicodemus in John chapter 3, 40:07 and He told him, "You must be born again." 40:12 And of course, you'll remember how Nicodemus responded to that. 40:15 He was thinking that was something physical. 40:17 He said, "How can I enter a second time 40:20 into my mother's womb?" 40:22 And Jesus, essentially, said to him, 40:24 "You're thinking physically but I'm speaking spiritually. 40:28 You have lost your spirit nature and you need to get it back. 40:34 You must be born again," right? 40:37 And so we look at the Holy Spirit and we understand 40:42 and we know that after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit 40:45 was poured out but Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is 40:51 in the world and He is convicting the world 40:55 of what is wrong, what is right, 40:58 and trying to lead you to a decision. 41:02 You know, many times, I have been talking to people 41:04 about spiritual things and I've heard people say, 41:07 "Well, I'm a good person." 41:10 You ever heard somebody say that? 41:12 I love it when people tell me that because then I can 41:14 tell them the only reason that you're as good as you are is 41:18 because the Holy Spirit is there convicting you, 41:21 but God wants more than that. 41:24 He wants you to invite Him into your heart because you can't 41:30 do it on your own, and you need to be born of the Spirit. 41:35 You need the Spirit of God in you. 41:37 And when He comes in, He writes His law on your mind 41:41 and in your heart. 41:42 He gives you the power and the capacity to live for Him 41:47 and no longer follow or live in sin. 41:51 There's that enmity between Satan and the church so that 41:57 now we have the power, now we have the capacity, 42:00 now we have the ability, to live for God. 42:08 I want you to notice what it said in the magazine, 42:11 "The Signs of the Times," on December 12, 1895. 42:16 It says: "In the councils of heaven, 42:20 hope was furnished for the fallen race. 42:25 Jesus Christ offered His life as a ransom for the lost as the 42:29 price by which He might purchase the right to recreate the sinner 42:35 and form again the image of God in the soul. 42:40 Fallen man was to be renewed in the divine likeness. 42:44 He was to be uplifted, to be pardoned and redeemed, 42:47 not by the law, but by Jesus Christ our righteousness." 42:53 You see, all of those lambs that were temporarily covering up 42:58 sin, they were actually pointing to Jesus Christ who would come 43:03 and ultimately be the Lamb of God 43:05 that would take away the sin of the world. 43:08 That He would give you the power and the capacity to live for Him 43:14 and that He could recreate you into the image of God. 43:20 And so God instituted that sacrificial system to help us. 43:26 God continued His revelation of reconciliation then with Noah 43:33 and with Abraham and with Moses, and the consummation 43:39 of His revelation was in the giving of the commandments, 43:45 the covenant, and the Sanctuary service. 43:49 And so today we have laid the foundation 43:53 for this amazing study that we're going to be doing called, 43:57 "The Promise: God's Everlasting Covenant." 44:02 The problem that the majority of the Christian world has today 44:10 is that they don't understand the plan of salvation. 44:15 There's a verse in the Bible that says: 44:18 "Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary." 44:22 And if we are going to truly understand how God is going to 44:26 make atonement for our sins, how God is going to save us, 44:29 we need to understand the sanctuary service. 44:33 We need to understand the covenants. 44:35 And so I think it's very timely as we are living in these 44:40 last days that God is bringing this study to us that we can 44:47 truly understand both the old covenant and the new covenant. 44:52 And so we have laid the foundation. 44:55 And I don't know about you but I'm excited about this study 44:58 and I can't wait as we get further and further into it. 45:02 But before we end today, I want to remind you 45:05 of our free offering today. 45:07 It is the pocketbook called, "The Final Verdict," 45:10 and you can get this by dialing 866-788-3966. 45:18 You can ask for, "Offer number 162, 45:21 'The Final Verdict.'" 45:24 You can also get that by texting the code "SH-078" 45:31 to the number "40544," and you can get that book, 45:35 "The Final Verdict." 45:38 Why don't we close with a word of prayer. 45:43 Loving Father, Lord, You are so good. 45:50 Lord, You could have just abandoned us to the deceptions 45:55 of the devil, but You stepped in and You were providing a way 46:00 for us to be restored to a relationship with You, 46:05 to be restored into the image and in the likeness of God. 46:11 Lord, we pray for Your forgiveness. 46:14 We pray that You would continue the work that You have begun 46:19 in us, and Lord, that You would bring it to completion. 46:23 We understand, Lord, that it's not about 46:25 trying harder to be good, 46:27 but rather it's about surrendering our will. 46:29 And Lord, we know that every single person that arrives 46:34 in heaven will arrive there with their free will still intact. 46:39 You will never take that away. 46:42 You have given that to us because you want a relationship 46:46 with us. 46:48 You want us to love You back because we choose to. 46:50 And Lord, by surrendering our will to You, 46:53 we are still within the confines of our own will. 46:57 You have given us that privilege and that joy. 47:01 And Lord, our desire is as we continue forward in this study, 47:06 that You would show us that plan of salvation. 47:11 Help us to understand the Sanctuary service. 47:13 Help us to understand the Commandments, 47:16 that they are still applicable today and they are still 47:19 a requirement of God that we would follow them and keep them, 47:23 and that You give us the power and the capacity to do it. 47:26 And it's the devil still working today to try and convince us 47:30 that we don't need to keep the Commandments. 47:32 And Lord, we want to understand those covenants, 47:36 and so we pray as we go forward in our study 47:39 that You would bless us and You would keep us. 47:42 Make Your face shine upon us, Lord, and give us Your peace. 47:47 And we ask it all in Jesus's name, amen. 47:51 Well, God bless you all. 47:53 I hope that you enjoyed that first study as we laid 47:56 the foundation for more to come. 48:00 God bless you and have a great day. 48:05 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 48:07 free resource. 48:08 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 48:10 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 48:13 or mobile device. 48:14 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 48:17 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit 48:21 the web address shown on your screen and be sure to select 48:25 the digital download option on the request page. 48:27 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 48:30 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 48:34 And most important, to share it with others. 48:41 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 48:49 Charlie Green: My life was in turmoil. 48:51 My wife and I were fighting all the time. 48:53 I got away from everything and everybody. 48:56 I don't know, I just always had this emptiness in my heart, 48:59 and I want it filled. 49:01 I just felt like I went my whole life, 49:03 you know, just searching for something 49:05 and my father died and that ruined me a lot. 49:09 My father didn't believe in suicide 49:11 and I didn't want to live but, rather than disrespect him, 49:14 I decided I would just become so mean that someone else would 49:17 do it to me and I wouldn't have to. 49:19 So I joined the army, thinking, 49:21 "What better place to get killed than in the army?" 49:23 And while I was in the army, my daughter got injured. 49:26 She was in an accident and she was blind and paraplegic and 49:31 it's just like I felt the whole world was coming down on me. 49:35 One morning, I just really got mad 49:38 and I gave God a cussing like you wouldn't believe. 49:41 I said, "I'm not Moses, not Abraham, you know. 49:44 I don't--but I put my sandals on just like they do and I'm a man. 49:49 I don't want to know why this is happening to me. 49:51 I just want to know that it's happening for a reason. 49:54 If You tell me right now that this is all for a reason, 49:57 then You can stack it on me from here to the end of time 50:00 and I will never complain again." 50:04 And that little TV came on. 50:06 It had been sitting there just static all night long. 50:09 And there was this minister, when he pops up and he says, 50:12 "Today's lesson's from the book of Job. 50:15 God only lets those suffer that He loves the most." 50:18 And I thought, "That's all You've got to say, Lord. 50:19 I appreciate your Word. 50:21 From that day forward, I knew that He was there, 50:23 He's in my life, and that He would help me. 50:27 I went to prison just almost immediately after that. 50:31 I was in prison for aggravated assault. 50:33 I was in one of the worst prisons in the state 50:36 of Tennessee. 50:37 It was full of gang activity. 50:39 I got my throat cut, 52 stitches. 50:42 I could take those fingers and stick 'em 50:45 all the way through, out my mouth. 50:47 I'd gone to the library that day because it was really 50:49 about the only thing to do. 50:51 But I ran across this little book called, 50:53 "The Richest Caveman." 50:55 This book, it's hilarious, but it is great. 50:58 I'm sitting there with this big beard. 51:00 I'm thinking, "Hey, I know what it's like to look like a caveman 51:02 but [laughing]-- 51:04 I'm not an educated person, I guess you'd say, 51:06 but I'm a simple guy. 51:08 I'm just really a simple guy. 51:10 That's what I loved about Doug Batchelor, 51:12 because this guy, he's just as straight out as you can get. 51:17 And my wife and I, we've kept contact through all these years 51:20 and so much has gone on. 51:25 And I told her, I said, "Listen, this is the center of my world 51:30 right now." 51:31 And I said, "I really want you to be involved in it with me. 51:34 I need Him." 51:35 And I said, "You will too if you ever get to take hold of it." 51:38 I told my wife, I said, "Listen, they've got this 'Amazing Facts' 51:41 Bible study going here and this is the best way for you 51:45 to get this information, I think," 51:48 I said, "because it's broken down 51:50 and they give you questions and-- 51:55 to make you look for these things, you know? 51:58 So it's not anyone telling you. 52:00 You find it on your own. 52:01 And they teach you to actually use the Bible." 52:04 She was there faithfully, every Wednesday, 52:06 until we decided, you know, she wanted to be baptized also. 52:12 She saw it coming round. 52:14 The choice was made, and October 4, 2014, 52:19 my wife and I, we were baptized in the water at the same time. 52:23 And we started our walk together, 52:27 I guess you'd say. 52:29 I went through everything that a man could possibly go through, 52:32 I guess, from marital trouble, loss of family members, 52:38 death of my family, my children were harmed 52:40 and my daughter's handicapped for life. 52:44 I went to prison, but still, I kept my word to God 52:49 that He could stack it on me as much as He wanted 52:53 and I'd never question Him and I didn't. 52:56 But I can say this much: He never put nothing on me 53:00 that I couldn't handle. 53:02 And He walked me through it all. 53:04 And I like to say that to anyone who is in prison, 53:10 not to give up. 53:11 Don't lose hope. 53:12 Put your faith in the Lord and study and seek Him 53:16 and He will seek you. 53:18 And my name is Charlie Green and I want you to know 53:21 that you and "Amazing Facts" have changed my life. 53:25 ♪♪ 53:41 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 53:49 Diamond Garcia: Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia 53:51 and I am from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. 53:54 I was raised in a very dysfunctional family, 53:57 like most families. 53:59 Being in that environment, I would lie, cheat, steal, 54:02 rob houses, cheat in school on tests, 54:05 and lie to teachers and getting into fights 54:08 and all kinds of stuff. 54:11 One day I was asked to take this little box of something and 54:14 I had to walk down the road and give it to someone 54:17 and they would give me money and I would walk back home. 54:19 And I later realized I was dealing drugs. 54:24 Growing up in that environment, I thought that, you know, 54:26 being an adult was a life of drinking and smoking 54:29 and partying and that's just what adults did. 54:33 When I looked at my family and saw the road that 54:35 they were going down, getting arrested, 54:38 getting beaten up, 54:39 coming home drunk and puking all over the floor, 54:42 I just didn't want that for myself. 54:46 Growing up, I had a grandma who was baptized as a Christian 54:49 in her 20s but then she wasn't a real practicing Christian. 54:53 And so one day I was at her house and there was a box 54:55 of various books so I went to the bottom of that box 54:58 and found a book called, "The Great Controversy." 55:01 And I picked it up and I said, "This is interesting." 55:03 And I opened to the first page of that book and it said: 55:06 "If thou hast known," I had no clue what it meant. 55:11 And so I said, "You know what? Forget this." 55:12 I put the book down. 55:14 I just walked away, did my thing. 55:16 But then something told me, "You know, Diamond, 55:17 go back to that book." 55:19 And so I went back to the book, picked it up. 55:21 Went to the last two chapters and I read it. 55:25 And I said to my grandmother, I said, 55:27 "What church is this from? 55:29 I want to go to that church." 55:30 So she brought me down to the local church and I walk 55:33 in through the back door and the piano's off-key, 55:36 people were off-key. 55:37 It's, like, "Man, this is really kind of-- 55:40 I don't want to be here." 55:42 And I got to the front of the church and I sat down. 55:44 I was listening to the sermon and the whole service 55:46 was so boring to me. 55:48 But then someone gives me the set of DVDs and it was called, 55:52 "The Prophecy Code." 55:55 It was through watching Doug Batchelor explain 55:57 the truths found in the Bible that really brought me to Christ 56:01 and brought me to realize that, you know what? 56:03 There is a life better than my family's life. 56:07 My second week at church on Sabbath, 56:09 there was one person there. 56:11 He basically told me, "Hey, Diamond, 56:13 do you want to make some money?" 56:15 And I said, "Sure." I said, "What do you do?" 56:17 He says, "Well, I'm a colporteur. 56:19 We go door to door and we sell Christian books." 56:21 I said, "Oh, okay. 56:23 Well, that sounds interesting. 56:24 I do want to make some money too." 56:26 And so he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me?" 56:29 We drove out to the neighborhood, 56:31 parked the car, and that night was just raining. 56:33 It was pouring and pouring. 56:35 It could not stop raining. 56:36 He prayed. 56:38 He said, "God, this is Diamond's first night. 56:40 If it's Your will, stop the rain so we can go knocking on doors." 56:42 And as soon as he said, "Amen," the rain just stopped. 56:45 I was just thinking in my head, "Is this guy a prophet or what?" 56:49 I mean, he just prayed and asked God and it happened. 56:53 And so I was so happy, I grabbed the books and I went 56:56 to the first door, and the first door I went to, 56:58 the person gave me 50 bucks. 57:00 That night was actually a big night for me because it was 57:03 where I saw God's power work in stopping the rain 57:06 and people actually giving me lots of money. 57:09 I then became a colporteur or a canvasser and I saved money 57:12 to pay for my way through the academy and when my church began 57:15 to see how God was using me and they immediately recognized 57:19 that it was God's Spirit moving and they put me, you know, 57:22 preaching and teaching and sharing my faith. 57:24 And I've been engaged in ministry for the past six 57:27 or seven years now and God has taken me all over the world 57:30 on multiple continents, sharing my testimony, 57:32 how God has brought me out of darkness 57:34 into His marvelous light, which is total contrast 57:37 as to was I was before I am now, you know, it's a total contrast. 57:42 My name is Diamond and "Amazing Facts" 57:44 has helped to change my life. 57:47 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-03-24